


Eternal Antarctic Nights

by pretzel_poppy (KCHL)



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: 5+1 Things, Antarctic Empire, Gen, Technoblade-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Waltzing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:47:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29662668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KCHL/pseuds/pretzel_poppy
Summary: “You don't have to count for me, Phil. I'm not twelve anymore,” Techno whispered against the fragile peace, only getting a snicker in return.“We both know stopping would cost me my feet, Techno.”Techno snorted softly, faking annoyance. His antics didn't faze Phil these days, though, and the older let out a light laugh as he continued leading Techno.//Five times Techno follows and the one time he leads.
Relationships: Cara | CaptainPuffy/Niki | Nihachu, Clay | Dream/Floris | Fundy, Niki | Nihachu & Technoblade, Ranboo & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, Wilbur Soot/Sally the Salmon
Comments: 11
Kudos: 240





	Eternal Antarctic Nights

\---1. Phil---

“One-two-three one-two-three one-two-three,” Phil mumbled under his breath as he slowly lead Techno around the hall. Antarctic winters consisted of nothing but eternal night, shrouding their lands in nothing but darkness and danger. Inside, though, in their castle, the fire blazed proudly and the jukebox in the corner played something slow. Pete was passed out by the central fireplace of the ballroom, book still open in his lap. One of the foxes had snuck under his chair and was now resting with its tail around Pete's feet. Phil and Techno, meanwhile, decided to brush up on their waltzing skills.

“You don't have to count for me, Phil. I'm not twelve anymore,” Techno whispered against the fragile peace, only getting a snicker in return. 

“We both know stopping would cost me my feet, Techno.”

Techno snorted softly, faking annoyance. His antics didn't faze Phil these days, though, and the older let out a light laugh as he continued leading Techno. 

This was how it always went, their push and pull. Phil had taught Techno first five years ago, long before this world was  theirs to mold to their liking, long after Techno's mind had betrayed him. It was nice, dancing; it gave him something to do, something to focus on. It gave Phil time to think for himself, too – something he rarely had the time to do anymore with his son and his new best friend around. Their chaos was shut out in here, though.

So, Phil and Techno danced the Arctic nights away, flurrying around each other as the storms raged on outside.

\---2. Wilbur---

“Come on, Techno, please?” Wilbur dragged out the final word as if that would change Techno's answer. Truth was, he'd already made his mind up about teaching the other to dance. He'd shown up on an early spring morning, five more long hours until the limited sunlight reached them, and had begged Techno to _please_ _please_ _please_ teach him how to waltz. He'd said something about a girl he wanted to impress, some shapeshifter who'd shown up at Newfoundland in winter. She'd apparently been begging him to go dancing, something to do with shifter culture.

Techno let Wilbur in, nodding his head towards the snowy boots the other was wearing, urging him to take them off. He did so immediately, not wanting Techno to kick him out anyways. They moved to the ballroom then, and Techno stood opposite Will.

“You  gotta put your right hand on my lower back, then grab my right hand with your left,” Techno started, guiding Wilbur when his hands were a little loose, before resting his own left hand against his partner's shoulder. “I'm just  gonna teach you a basic box step, okay? Then you  gotta figure out the rest yourself.”

When Wilbur left that evening, long after they'd taken a break to watch the sunset, he had a bounce to his walk that Techno hadn't seen before. He'd understand it later, though, when Wilbur showed up a few months later to a diplomatic dinner with a pretty redhead on his arm. He'd waltz that night away with her, only taking a break to share another dance with Techno, laughing the whole time.

\---3. Tommy---

“ Technoblade ?” Tommy's voice sounded from outside the potato farm. Techno sighed loudly. He loved the kid, he really did, but he could get to be a little much some days. Tommy was exactly the reason behind why the farm was secluded from the rest of  Pogtopia . That and the fact that people tended to fall from the ceiling in  Pogtopia , which could  definitely hurt his crops.

“Techno, there you are, big man,” Tommy exclaimed as he rounded the corner, walking over to try and tug the other out of the farm. “Wilbur's got a new disk and said he won't play it until you get up.”

“He wants us on the surface?” Techno questioned before just letting himself be dragged up the stairs. It was usually easier to go along with Will and Tommy's plans, it tended to take less time than resisting them did.

The sun hit his eyes harshly when Tommy broke open the  hillside they resided in. He'd been down there for a while, he knew that much, but the blinding white light seemed to suggest it had been weeks. He definitely hadn't slept more than three times, though, and maybe that was cause for concern. For now, though, he ignored the way the light reminded him of snow blindness and the way that tugged at something in him.

The disk was in ¾ time signature – of course it was – and one glance to Wilbur's smiling face confirmed that that was exactly why Techno was called up to the surface. Will had said something about how being able to properly waltz was an important diplomatic skill, and it was time Tommy learned, too. 

So, despite Tommy's initial – and rather loud – protests, the three danced away a day under the sun, Wilbur getting his own chance to waltz, too. This world wasn't theirs to mold – not yet, at least – but the meadow outside their home would bear their footprints for weeks.

\---4. Dream---

Techno had accepted his role as his new brothers’ dance coach, which is exactly why his next student came as such a shock to him. The pleading  look on Dream's face confirmed his words, though, and Techno wondered just how desperate the other must be to come to  _ him _ of all people.

“Fundy already knows how and I don't  wanna tell him I don't,” Dream had explained when he first told Techno about his situation, “apparently Wilbur taught him how to follow, so I guess I should learn to lead. He told me you might know.”

“He told you right. What are you offering?” Techno replied, considering just how much his time was worth. 

“I'll give you a god apple, just please teach me.” And it was the only time that Techno, or anyone, really, would see Dream grovel. He liked watching his “rival” beg for a small favor. He could drag this out more, that much was obvious, but a god apple was already overcharging, and Techno was nothing if not compassionate to the poor.

“That'll do. You got a place where we can practice? Anything flat will do.”

They ended up on a mountain ridge, just under where the real ascent started, with no rhythm to guide them apart from Techno's humming. It was something old, something he'd learned from his people at the Arctic. Phil had liked it, he remembered, often playing it on those eternal nights. 

Techno closed his eyes, pretending that a different hand rested on his back, that if he opened his eyes, another shade of green would meet him. It was still just lime, though, and he didn't open his eyes again as the hours slipped by.

Techno wasn't invited to the wedding, and from what he'd heard, he was glad he wasn't. Dream's god apple had been for nothing – him and Fundy didn't even make it to the first dance. Techno wondered if Dream was instead in a cave somewhere, laughing through the night as he and George trip over each other's feet to a soft hum.

\---5. Ranboo---

Sometimes it felt like there was a new wedding every week. First it was Dream and Fundy, then George and Ninja, somewhere along the line, Karl,  Sapnap , and  Quackity finally tied the knot. And those were just the weddings Techno vaguely knew about. He hadn't been invited to any of them, of course, which was why the envelope in his hands felt so foreign to him. It was his name, though, written on the front in a swooping font. It was  Ghostbur's handwriting, Techno knew, left over from his presidential days and refined in his memory book. 

He clumsily tore at the paper, wanting to know if this wedding was actually worth going to, or just another trap. 

_ Please join us in celebrating our wedding! _

_ Captain Puffy and Niki  _ _ Nihachu _

_ This coming Saturday at the Church of Prime _

_ Ceremony: four in the afternoon _

_ Reception: seven in the evening _

_ Bring your dancing shoes! _

Niki and Puffy had mostly been nice to him, Techno supposed, even though he did fight the Captain on at least one occasion, and then blew up Jack Manifold's stuff in front of her. Okay, rephrasing time,  _ Niki  _ had always been nice to him. Puffy seemed to tolerate him some of the time. 

Techno noticed that the mailbox wasn't empty yet, though, and pulled out an identical  envelope addressed to  Ranboo . 

An awkward conversation about  Ranboo's past later, the two found themselves out in front of Techno's house, having dragged the jukebox out in to the snow and selected a random disk. Techno hadn't dared touch Phil's collection, though, too scared of breaking something. 

They danced slowly, a few snowflakes coming down to settle on their shoulders and Techno's hand, shocking him out of wherever his thoughts had taken him.  Ranboo seemed just as gone as he had been, though, as the two continued to move carefully around the tundra. This reminded him of Phil more than any of the other times had, and he was content staring off into icy eternity as he let his neighbor/newest brother half- assedly lead him through song after song.

Phil found them with frozen fingertips, still moving through the night, the moon smiling down upon them.

\---+1. Niki---

The ceremony had been beautifully chaotic, exactly what one might expect from a wedding on the SMP. Nobody had died, though that was only because of the Holy Lands’ status. There was still fighting among the guests, though – glares that  Quackity had thrown Techno's way from the other side of the church – a slight altercation involving Fundy and George, both tipsy – Bad getting yelled at for trying to promote the Egg at  Puffy's wedding – but none of it seemed to reach the brides as they gave their vows and exchanged promises. Techno had seen Eret and Phil share a pack of tissues from the corner of his eyes, and he'd turned to  Ranboo to make fun of them, only to find that  Ranboo wasn't in a much better state than them.

The evening found everyone outside, where  Ranboo and  Tubbo had decorated the flat lands surrounding the quartz building, making sure to include synced jukeboxes in their design. Now, Puffy and Niki took their places, sharing their first dance to something soft that made Eret gasp when they heard it. It was significant to them, and Techno had never felt more like an outside than he did watching the two women lose themselves in each other. Puffy lead carefully, Techno noted, but Niki seemed sure as he followed her wife. 

The brides danced with everyone as the night went on, and Techno shared his own dances with Phil, Wilbur, Tommy, and even a rare two minutes with Dream, who refused to meet his eyes the whole time. Now, though, he found himself stood in front of Niki with an unsure hand hovering around her waist. She smiled up at him before guiding his hand to her back, pressing down to tell him it was okay to touch her. It was a simple gesture, one that he'd done himself a dozen times when teaching other people how to lead, but it was enough to snap him out of his thoughts.

“I like your hair, what dye to you use?” Niki asked him when he finally started to nervously lead her.

“It's got a little bit of- of blue mixed in to it to make it stand out more,” he managed to say when he wasn’t thinking hard about his feet. Niki hummed in response.

“I need to redo my roots soon, could you help me?” she asked then, and Techno absentmindedly nodded. She was trying to take his mind off of his feet, he knew that, but he hadn't  lead since Phil had taught him nine years prior, and he'd been a foot shorter than Phil at the time. Now, he towered over Niki.

The song changed then, and his mind drifted off the second the Arctic melody reached his ears. It was the song Phil liked so much – the one he'd hummed to Dream – and the warmth of bodies around him, combined with the wooden dance floor beneath his feet was enough to pull him in to his head. Niki had stopped talking, too, and Techno could almost hear Pete's snoring through the disk. He let the Antarctic take him where it wanted him to go as the music dragged him back to that world that he'd owned.

The music washed over him as he waltzed this eternal moment away with Niki and, for the first time in a long time, Techno was home.


End file.
